Sarah Palin. Reader. Just ask her Mother.

Palin - no book in sight

Sure. That's why she quit halfway through her term as governor. So she could spend more time reading.

Palin became testy when I asked her about the books I heard she had been reading. "I've been reading since I was a little girl," she snapped. "And my mom is standing 15 feet away from me, and I should put her on the phone with you right now so she can tell you. That's what happens when you grow up in a house full of teachers -- you read; and I always have. Just because -- and," she continued, though in a less blistering tone, "I don't want to come across sounding caustic or annoyed by this issue: because of one roll-of-the-eye answer to a question I gave, I'm still dealing with this," she said, referring to her interview with Katie Couric.

"There's nothing different today than there was in the last 43 years of my life since I first started reading. I continue to read all that I can get my hands on -- and reading biographies of, yes, Thatcher for instance, and of course Reagan and the John Adams letters, and I'm just thinking of a couple that are on my bedside, I go back to C.S. Lewis for inspiration, there's such a variety, because books have always been important in my life." She went on: "I'm reading [the conservative radio host] Mark Levin's book; I'll get ahold of Glenn Beck's new book -- and now because I'm opening up," she finished warily, "I'm afraid I'm going to get reporters saying, Oh, she only reads books by Glenn Beck."

Her infomercial showed her signing books that someone had written for her, but it didn't show much of a library. One wonders how she finds the time between Twittering and Facebooking to actually, you know, read real stuff. (Even if it is right-wing fantasy).

I don't know why those particular conservatives, lacking any sense of intellectual curiosity, feel compelled to invent a reading list to present to their equally lazy fan-base. Let's face it, those attracted to Palin don't care whether she can read anyway.